Child dies of brain-eating amoeba in Nebraska, affirm US well being officers

A Nebraska youngster died from a uncommon an infection attributable to a brain-eating amoeba after swimming in a river close to Omaha. Health officers consider the kid grew to become contaminated whereas swimming within the Elkhorn River,

The Elkhorn River, simply west of Omaha, Neb., is pictured on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. (AP Photo)

HIGHLIGHTSNebraska youngster died from a uncommon an infection in USInfection was attributable to a brain-eating amoeba after swimming in a riverPeople get contaminated when water containing the amoeba enters the physique via the nostril whereas swimming

Federal well being officers confirmed Friday {that a} Nebraska youngster died from a uncommon an infection attributable to a brain-eating amoeba after swimming in a river close to Omaha.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the presence of the naegleria fowleri amoeba within the youngster, in line with the Douglas County Department of Health in Omaha.

Health officers consider the kid grew to become contaminated whereas swimming Sunday within the Elkhorn River, a couple of miles west of Omaha. Authorities haven’t launched the kid’s title.

People are often contaminated when water containing the amoeba enters the physique via the nostril whereas swimming in or diving into lakes and rivers. Other sources have been documented, together with tainted faucet water in a Houston-area metropolis in 2020.

It is the second dying within the Midwest this summer season from main amebic meningoencephalitis, an an infection attributable to the amoeba that has proved deadly in 97% of reported instances. A Missouri resident died of the an infection in July after swimming at Lake of Three Fires in southwestern Iowa, well being officers have stated.

Symptoms of the an infection embody fever, headache, nausea or vomiting, progressing to a stiff neck, lack of stability, hallucinations and seizures.

The CDC says naegleria fowleri infections are uncommon, with about three instances within the United States yearly. There have been 154 instances reported between 1962 and 2021 within the U.S., with solely 4 survivors. Only about 430 instances have ever been documented globally.

In the U.S., infections from the amoeba usually happen in southern states as a result of the amoeba thrives in waters which might be hotter than 86 levels Fahrenheit (30 Celsius). But infections have migrated north lately, together with two instances in Minnesota since 2010.

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